


The Escort

by ShogunTaira



Series: Short Story Sundays [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alien Planet, Aliens, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-16
Updated: 2014-11-16
Packaged: 2018-02-25 16:02:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2627708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShogunTaira/pseuds/ShogunTaira
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A mission of elimination turns sour - or does it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Escort

**Author's Note:**

> This is a thing I'd like to do every Sunday where I put together a story from the week's writings and share it here. Let me know if you guys are into the concept, if it's something I should do every week, and how you like each one.
> 
> Thanks!

As I entered this world, I saw monstrosities - blood and guts everywhere and pain-filled faces. I could feel the effluvial vapors rising all around my body and seeping into my nose; it was discreet, but noticeable and revolting. The atmosphere had changed dramatically, the threat of suffocation banging against my vision. I can barely see anything, but I hear one thing: “Repeat. GU-6844, report in.” A fair female voice filled my head. It echoed and scrambled my thoughts and observations – the only thing really keeping me company. “Repeat. GU-6844, report-” “Reporting.” I finally responded. I saw other people in weird suits beside me, staring at me like I was about to pass out. One of them raised their hand to the side of their helmet, fighting against the arid environment. “Thought I lost you there for a second, King.” His deep voice crackled through my head and took over the previous voice's sovereignty. “You sure you wanna be here? Mars starting to get back at you?” I slowly nodded without reason and replied with an almost forced “I'm fine”.  


The group of three other people exchanged looks and started to move ahead once more, two in front and another beside me. This man walked slightly closer to me. “King, look, if you're not feeling up to it, don't feel obligated, alright? I know you got 15 of these strikes under your belt, but no one's asking you for them.” I kept my eyesight dead straight, peering through the gap of the front two escorts into the darkness beyond. “Me, Redoubt and Hornet are fine on our own. Just... keep us in the loop, 'kay?” Redoubt cocked his head back at us. “Ike, keep a lid on it, you dunce. We're coming up on a new room.” Ike looked to me again. “Well, if you just need help, let me know.” I quietly shrugged him off and increased my speed slightly. I felt hot all over, as if the sun were right next to my head firing a blowtorch at me. My hands were shaking and I could feel sweat breaking out of my pores. The omniscient voice came back. “King, your heart rate is climbing. What's going on?” It took a pause or two but I found the strength to respond. “Nothing. I'm fine.” My heart started to slow down steadily and my hands steadied themselves. I started to breath more calmly as the group once again let their gazes wander away from me.  


We came across a gorge that resembled a forever aging battlefield: mold and other undisclosed decrepit materials lined the walls and floor. Feint noises of rattling could be heard further ahead, to which the two point guards drew their weapons. “We got company up ahead, North. Give us some recon.” Redoubt whispered to the superior voice. “Copy that. Keep your eyes peeled and stand your ground while I get a reading.” The entire group stopped dead in its tracks, weapons poised and rotating in all directions. The rattling seemed to be all around them, moving from corridor to corridor, inside the walls and on the ceilings. The woman on the left was scanning more frantically then the others, almost dropping her rifle as she turned her safety off. A while later, a response came back. “Alright team, I'm picking up at least 60+ hostiles up ahead. There are two corridors on opposite ends of the room: both of them lead straight to the central chamber. You can split up and move ahead relatively undetected or you can take them head on.”  


The rattling faded away as she finished talking and the group lowered their weapons, still keeping their eyes peeled. “Alright then,” Redoubt said as he turned and looked at the rest of us, “who's going with who?” We all looked at each other and traded anxious gazes. I was about to make my decision until Redoubt broke in. “Actually, let's do this. Ike, you come with me; we have business to discuss. Hornet, you tag with King.” Hornet looked over to me with relieving eyes; she relaxed her shoulders and let her rifle hang and motioned that we move out immediately. Redoubt and Ike went their way and we did ours. I could see them with their weapons still in both hands, but Hornet almost waltzed her way down our path.  
“It's nice to have a bit of chill time between all this crap, right King?” She looked back at me, barely able to put my weight into my steps and her speed instantly slowed. She took slow backward strides until we were about five feet apart. “Alright... something's definitely wrong here. You're sapped of any energy and you look like you're about to collapse.” I straightened up and gave my shoulders a good rub. “It's fine, I'm just... feeling empty inside, I guess.”  


“Empty? We ate like half an hour ago.”  


“I didn't mean it like that.” We both stood there in silence for what seemed like an eternity; a chilling atmosphere settled in between us, until Hornet broke the silence. “Hey, what actually happened on Mars anyway?” I could feel a cold shock shoot down my spine and my heart almost beating at the speed of light. “It... doesn't concern you. Please don't ask me about it.” Hornet sighed. “Fine, no more questions. Tell me what happened on Mars.” I let out a huge sigh before hearing a loud explosion far ahead, emanating from the main chamber.  


Me and Hornet rushed up through the tunnel to find Redoubt and Ike on the ground, covered in filth and explosive powder. “What the hell happened here?” Hornet shouted with a quaking voice. Redoubt stumbled up, wiping the powder off of his suit. “Damn explosives can't penetrate this thing!” We both looked up at a monstrous-looking structure, covered in red and with countless branching tubes that disappeared into the walls. Ike, coughing and still struggling to get up, suddenly grasped his helmet. “I think some of that powder got in my helmet!” As Ike started to get up and attempt to let the powder out, Redoubt quickly reached into his utility belt in search of something, but came up short. “Shit.” He murmured and paused, looked at Ike, and started to reach instead for his pistol. Hornet quickly saw the motion and grabbed his arm. “What are you doing!?” She screamed at the top of her lungs. Ike was unable to react; he had moved up against a nearby wall, still trying to get his helmet off and escape the powder. Redoubt, muscled his way out of her grasp. “What? If these helmets come off, we're done for, right King? That's what you told me?” I was inches away from him, also about to reach for his weapon when I froze at the query; Hornet looked at me with wide eyes of revelation. It was in this split second that Redoubt found the opening to point the gun at Ike and pull.  


We all stood in silence, staring at Ike's limp and lifeless body against the wall, helmet half opened. Hornet immediately swiped the gun out Redoubt's hand. “What the fuck is the matter with you? Why couldn't you just clear his helmet out?” Redoubt spun around and talked with a brazen but smartly silenced voice, “I'm all out of spare oxygen, Hornet! I don't suppose you brought any extra because of how 'independent' you are, huh?” He suddenly pointed to me. “King knows more then anybody here that when the air gets to you, you're done for!” He looked to me with the most serious eyes I had seen from him. “Me and King, we've been through some real tough shit. What was it you said back then, 'No more of this'?” He caught me in a loop. All I could respond with was a stupid nod; Redoubt took that as a 'yes' and turned back to the structure in front of us, Hornet gazing attentively at me. “What's done is done. Now how the hell are we gonna take this thing out?”  


He reached up to his helmet, banging on it slightly. “North, you there? Transmission clean yet?” The reply came in through a wave of heavy static. “Copy. Transmission is now clear again. Go ahead, one.”  
“We just blasted this thing with half of our ordinance and we haven't even dented it. No weak spots or anything. What's our plan B down here?” Hornet looked down at the floor, stilled shocked at what happened, and readied her rifle. “We're working on it, one. No hostiles are around you, so stand your ground as we come up with something.”  


“Understood.” Redoubt dropped his arm and rolled his shoulders. “No plan B, great. Now what?” He turned back to us when suddenly something sharp whizzed through Redoubt's helmet. Hornet already had her rifle poised, but quickly shifted her aim to the tunnel where the shot had come from. Redoubt fell like a sack of bricks to the floor while both me and Hornet nervously kept our eyes glued down our sights. “One? Report in. One.” North returned to us, still in a rather monotone voice. “Two, status report on the others.” Hornet was shaking violently, barely able to lift her hand to her helmet. “One... one is down... S-so is Three. Hostile nearby.” North silently acknowledged the report. “Team, here's plan B... One of these hostiles has a rare elemental crystal that can give you access to the inner portions of the structure. You need to kill it and acquire the crystal.”  


Hornet quickly looked to me and back down her scope, steadying her breath. “North, we don't know which one has it, and we can't get a visual on the hostile. Any way to detect?” No answer. Suddenly, another projectile, even faster then the previous, punctured Hornet's helmet. I easily saw where it came from and fired furiously. A dead and maimed corpse slowly came into view; the hostile was invisible. I was alone, finally. I walked up to the dead body and reached in to find the pinkish glowing crystal. When I came back into the main chamber and approached the giant structure, North finally replied. “Good work, King. I knew I could count on you.” I felt an overwhelming numbness pass over me as the crystal began to crack and a hole appear in the base of the structure, pulling me toward it. “This is your reward for our time on Mars.” North transmitted with an almost hazy voice. “Join us, love.”


End file.
